Losing starting left guard Ben Bartch is not an easy pill to swallow.
It takes time for an offensive line unit to gel and learn each other’s tendencies on the field. At 2-3 and only one game back of the AFC South lead, the Jaguars do not have the time necessary.
Insert Tyler Shatley. The longtime Jaguar has been a fixture in the offensive line room since 2014 and is well respected by his teammates for his attention to detail and workhorse mentality on and off the field. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence made it clear that these traits and experience in the league make Shatley the right man to step up for the injured Bartch.
“I love both those guys,” Lawrence said. “Those are my two of favorite teammates honestly. I’m not just saying that because I’m up here. Those really are two of the best guys. Obviously, I hate that for Bartch. I hate it for our team. He was playing great. Made a lot of strides. He had a great offseason. I thought he was doing a really great job, so I hate that his season got cut short, but I know what Tyler brings to the table, a guy that’s always ready.
"That’s a guy you want on your team, as far as the type of person that he is but how he prepares himself. Every week it’s like he’s a starter, whether that’s at center or guard. Any of those three spots in the middle, if something happens, like what happened to Ben, he’s ready to step up, and when he’s in there, it’s really seamless. Obviously, they’re two different players, but he’s done a great job. Same thing, had to come in the game, wasn’t really expecting to play and had to come in end of, I don’t know if it was end of the first half or somewhere in the second half, I can’t remember exactly what happened, but he came in and played the rest of the game and played well.”
Head coach Doug Pederson echoed those sentiments, preaching the importance of having veterans with experience at multiple positions.
“Yeah, any time you guys have veteran backups, swing guys that go in multiple spots is beneficial,” Pederson said. “Shatley is one of those guys, whether it’s guard or center. It’s just valuable to have. You have him, you have Walker (OL Walker Little) sitting there, Cole Van Lanen (OL Cole Van Lanen) used to play guard and tackle, so we got options.”
The seamless transition from Bartch to Shatley will be an important factor to keep an eye on this week. It is most critical if the Jaguars hope to have a quick turnaround starting with the Indianapolis Colts this weekend.
“Oh, yeah,” Pederson said. “In the NFC East, the last four games of the year we played our division. Four games, and I believe it was the Giants twice. It’s a quick turnaround, but we’re excited for the opportunity. Going to their place, it should be a great environment, great fan base there. Looking forward to it. We know it’s going to be a different game, it’s just going to take a good week of preparation and guys are excited for that.”
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